Connecting the Dots: top news stories for Tuesday, November 1

California voters may be feeling some sticker shock, today, after the estimated cost of the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles high-speed rail project jumped from $43 billion to $98.5 billion. Granted, the new numbers have been adjusted for inflation to reflect the final ticket price in 2033, the new estimated date of completion. Dan Richard says the new estimated price reflects an effort to be as honest and transparent about the cost of this project as possible…

But big government spending is not a recent phenomenon. According to a recent report from the US Census Bureau, the California government spent nearly $350 billion in 2009, which means government transactions made up a fifth of the state’s economy. The report also notes that the government collected $317 billion worth of revenue in 2009…

California Democrats continue to feel the ripple effects of Kinde Durkee’s embezzlement scheme. Now, because of the well-intentioned Political Reform Act, candidates are butting up against campaign contribution limits as they try to re-solicit money lost by Durkee or frozen by the investigation. The California Political Fair Practices Committee is trying to find some wiggle room for the recently impoverished candidates, but the rules can only be bent so far…

The new movie Moneyball tells the story of Billy Beane, general manager of the A’s from 2000-2004. The movie focuses on how Beane’s unique management techniques led the A’s to success, almost. But the movie turns a blind eye to another key contributing factor: steroids. Nine of the A’s key players were implicated in former senator Scott Mitchell’s investigation…

The authorities are still investigating the cause of Iraq veteran Scott Olsen’s injuries, but in the meantime, they are concerned that Occupy supporters have blamed a specific San Francisco deputy sheriff and jeopardized the safety of him and his family by his name on blogs and mentioning him on Twitter.